


A Tiny Bit of Hope

by rei_c



Series: Stiles Stilinski: Vongola Sky [21]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Difficult Decisions, Gen, Heartbreak, Hopeful Ending, Human Alpha Stiles Stilinski, Sky Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24364489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rei_c/pseuds/rei_c
Summary: It's been two weeks of nothing but stress since his initial meeting with Alpha Ito -- and then a tiny ray of hope starts shining through the aching, broken bond with his former cloud.
Relationships: Erica Reyes & Stiles Stilinski
Series: Stiles Stilinski: Vongola Sky [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1155296
Comments: 85
Kudos: 338





	A Tiny Bit of Hope

It's been two weeks of school and training and courting and worrying about what Alpha Ito's going to do and Stiles is exhausted. The ache of his broken bond with Erica hasn't stopped throbbing, seemingly getting worse every day, Hebe and Lori are spending every spare second they can find huddled together and whispering, Brett refuses to relax around Stiles, and Peter's looking more and more amused every time he gets a whiff of Stiles' frustration. Stiles knows Peter's waiting for him to snap and Stiles has been tempted to take Peter to the training grounds the Varia have set up and work out his frustration on the mist. He's Vongola, though, and the Vongola are the epitome of control, of their business, their territory, and themselves. 

Instead of doing what he wants and setting half a dozen people on fire, Stiles drops Hebe off at the house after school and then heads for the city park. Skies aren't immune to the benefits of sunlight and fresh air -- in fact, sometimes being outside helps ground them better than anything outside of a full complement of guardians. He parks in the first empty spot he finds and does his best to ignore the Vongola and Varia following him as he gets out of the Jeep and starts walking a loop around the park. 

Eventually, when he's made a half-dozen laps, he sprawls out on the ground in the middle of the grass, lies back and closes his eyes as the sun sinks into his skin in a pale imitation of the way Hebe's flame does the same. 

He drifts, listens to the noise of traffic and children, and, when a body collapses onto the ground next to him, Stiles doesn't flinch. Their bond might be broken but he'll always have an _awareness_ of Erica. 

"You're a dick," she tells him. 

Stiles snorts. "Yeah," he says. "I know. It's not like it's a secret; I never pretended to be otherwise." 

Erica reaches out, pokes him. Stiles finally opens his eyes and rolls onto his side, facing Erica. "I figured it out, you know," she says, still on her back, looking at the sky and not at Stiles. "Why you didn't ask me if I wanted to join your pack. You -- you do know I'm more than just Derek's beta, right? I have my own thoughts. My own opinions."

"I didn't want you to have to choose," Stiles says. "I didn't want to put you in that position." 

"Well, you should have," Erica says, and though her tone hasn't changed, the words hit Stiles like a punch. "Better to make me choose between my sky and my alpha than to treat me like you did. So, you're a dick and I'm pissed at you. How's Peter?" 

Stiles wants to reach out, tangle his fingers in Erica's. He holds himself back. "Still the same. Stressed, though he'll never admit it; you know what he's like. How're -- I mean, things are good for you?" 

"Tough," Erica says. "It's been tough. School's kicking my ass this year. But it's good to be back. I missed it." 

Of course she missed it. This is her home, this is her pack's territory. Stiles remembers nights when she rambled about Beacon Hills, about California, the way the preserve smells after it rains and the crisp mornings, sun gleaming off of streets and making the world shimmer. 

He had no right to take her away from it. 

"Your pack," Erica finally says, rolling over and meeting Stiles' eyes once the silence has stretched out. "You and Peter, right?" 

"Hebe, too," Stiles says. 

He pauses, weighs the sense of what he's about to say, decides to fuck politics and secrecy because he _misses_ Erica, misses the way they'd talk through sleepless hours of dark nights, bodies and flames curled together, sharing secrets, a little tribe of two amongst people they didn't trust. He misses Erica's laugh, the pranks they'd pull on the Varia, the way Xanxus would watch them, smile in his eyes even if his mouth never changed shape, the way having her _with_ him, in the face of his cousin and his cousin's guardians made him feel safe, solid, _connected_. 

His uncle never said why most Vongola skies bond rains first and clouds later, but Stiles knew. Bonded to Erica, Stiles could have taken on the _world_. 

"I'm working on a treaty with the Ito pack," he tells her. "They have two betas that I'd like to court -- well, one beta as my rain, but she's a package deal with her brother so my pack might grow soon, depending on what they think and what Alpha Ito allows. She's Hebe's age but he's only a couple years younger than me. I think it'd be nice to have someone my age around again." 

Erica flinches. Stiles' stomach sinks and he's about to apologise but she reaches out, entwines her fingers in with his, her thumb rubbing back and forth against his skin. 

"I want in," she says, quiet. It's almost too quiet for Stiles to hear and, for a moment, he thinks he's imagined it. She goes on, though, says, "I talked to Derek. As much as I could, anyway, with whatever that mist did to me on the plane. I -- you're mine, Stiles, and so is your sky, and I want it back. Derek -- would you take us all? A treaty, I suggested a treaty, but Derek said -- vassalage, he thought." 

Stiles yearns. "How?"

"Me as your cloud," Erica says. "Derek as a fellow alpha, but one who'd be loyal to the Vongola if you let him keep his territory. He'd share Beacon Hills with you when you're here, fight with you when you ask, come when you call, but otherwise -- you know what he's like. He'd like to be left alone and he'd have your backing to stay alone. Boyd's agreed, too. I don't know if it's because he likes the idea, or because Derek's the one who suggested it, or because of how you activated, but. He's in, we all are, if you are."

"Not Isaac?" Stiles asks. He thinks he knows the answer but has to ask because -- Derek and Boyd, yes, and Erica, _yes_ , but Stiles has never really cared for Isaac and he's relatively sure that his sky wouldn't extend the offer of a pack bond to Isaac. 

Erica makes a dismissive noise, one that has Stiles grinning. "He apparently decided to follow Scott, so fuck 'im. Nah, it'd just be the three of us." 

It -- fuck, but it would work. If he and Derek had a pack bond, then he wouldn't have to worry about Erica betraying him for her alpha. He'd have someone here, too, to keep an eye on Beacon Hills -- and his _dad_ \-- when he goes back to Italy, and Erica would be the perfect go-between. He could offer Derek protection, influence, even a treaty with the Ito pack and the Cìnniris, if and when those theoretical alliances become reality. 

The idea is -- it's almost _too_ perfect. 

"What's the catch?" he asks, mind dancing through the possibilities, the options and drawbacks and benefits.

"No catch," Erica promises. 

God, Stiles _wants_. He wants so much to say yes, right here and now, but he can't, not alone, not like this, no matter how much his sky is desperately reaching out for Erica, no matter how much he can feel her cloud reaching back with all of her fire and determination. 

"Eat dinner with us tonight," Stiles says. "You and Derek and Boyd. We'll -- I want to see what Peter says, and there are things you'll need to know before you decide, you and Derek both."

Erica's eyes widen. "You didn't say no," she says, sitting up. "You -- Stiles, you're not saying no."

Stiles rolls his eyes, points out, "I didn't say yes, either." 

That doesn't stop Erica, though. She stands up, bounces on her feet, grin shining bright from her eyes. "But you didn't outright refuse which means we can talk you into it. Okay. Dinner. What time?" 

Stiles sits up, looks up at her, eyes narrowed against the sun and her smile. "Dad's working the night shift," he says. "He won't leave until six. So -- seven-thirty? I'll make enough for everyone. Do you," he pauses, carefully trying to hide how much the echoing break of their bond still has him sore and suffering, and, he thinks, failing miserably, "is there anything you want me to make?" 

"Surprise us," Erica says. She bends down, presses a kiss to Stiles' forehead, and then starts backing away, happiness written all over her face. "Seven-thirty. I'll see you -- _we'll_ see you!" 

She runs off, then, laughing, and Stiles feels something like hope start to bubble up inside of him. He feels curiosity from his bond with Peter, joy from Hebe, and he takes a moment to revel in both before standing and wiping grass and dirt off his pants and ass as he heads for the Jeep. 

If he's making dinner for four werewolves and one sun, not to mention his own bottomless pit of a stomach, he'll need to stop at the store.


End file.
